NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith agreed to an HGH population study Aug. 8, but there have been no formal meetings with the NFL. / Jonathan Bachman, AP

by Tom Pelissero, USA TODAY Sports

by Tom Pelissero, USA TODAY Sports

Accusing the NFL Players Association of holding human growth hormone testing hostage, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's ranking Democrat threatened congressional intervention Thursday if the NFL can't implement testing this season after more than two years of delays.

"Despite extraordinary concessions from the NFL, numerous meetings with members of Congress and a parade of experts verifying the validity of (HGH) testing, the NFL Players Association continues to disregard its promise to implement HGH testing," Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland said in a statement issued to USA TODAY Sports.

"After two years of negotiations, the NFLPA is now holding HGH testing hostage because of matters wholly unrelated to testing. Continuing to block HGH testing in this way essentially will force Congress to intervene, which nobody wants."

The NFL's point man on drug testing raised the possibility of renewed congressional intervention Thursday, hours after NFLPA President Domonique Foxworth reiterated in an e-mail to USA TODAY Sports that the union wants to end Commissioner Roger Goodell's authority over appeals of punishments triggered by something other than a positive test, such as an HGH-related arrest.

Adolpho Birch, the NFL's senior vice president of labor policy and government affairs, countered that the union accepted the commissioner's authority on such matters as part of the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, which included a deal to begin HGH testing, and the league does not "feel it appropriate for him to abdicate that responsibility."

It's the only major issue standing in the way of testing, but it's a substantial one. The league's plan, Birch said, is to convince union representatives that they've already negotiated a fair deal â?? including appeals of positive drug tests going to a third-party arbitrator for the first time â?? before the regular season begins Sept. 5.

"Now, will we ultimately see Congress get back involved in this if we don't get this done? Most likely," Birch told USA TODAY Sports. "They have had an interest from the start, and I certainly don't see their interest waning."

In December, Cummings accused the union of trying to back out on an agreement to blood test for HGH that was included in the August 2011 collective bargaining agreement. The panel held a hearing to examine the science behind the testing and heard from experts that it was reliable. At that time, Cummings and committee chairman Darrell Issa said they expected more hearings.

There have been conversations but no formal meetings between the sides since NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith signed a letter Aug. 8 authorizing the HGH population study the union wanted, a person familiar with the union's thinking told USA TODAY Sports.

According to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue, the 32 player representatives have voted unanimously twice to reject proposals that didn't send all appeals to a third-party arbitrator. Neither Smith nor the NFLPA executive committee is authorized to make a unilateral decision without the board's consent.

In a strongly worded statement Thursday that called on the NFLPA to "stop the delay tactics" and "stop focusing on protecting people that break the law," Birch issued a statement that called the union's stance on commissioner authority a case of buyer's remorse.

George Atallah, the NFLPA's assistant executive director of external affairs, responded by posting a copy of the agreement Smith signed Aug. 8 authorizing the HGH population study to which the sides have agreed.

"The only case of buyer's remorse is the attached letter that the NFL agreed to weeks ago," Atallah wrote on the website. "Our signature is on it. Sign it, like you agreed to, and we start drawing blood from players immediately. Your refusal to sign it confirms that the only thing you care about is power."

It all happened in the hours after USA TODAY Sports published Foxworth's e-mail, which read: "If the NFL justifies keeping Roger's power because of the CBA, then why did they agree to change it for every other part of the new policy? The fact is he wants a 'carve out' and an exception to neutral arbitration. All of our players voted for fairness."

Continuing to wait could significantly impact the sample size of the joint population study, which the league agreed to only because it became apparent months ago that the union wouldn't move forward without it in negotiations on HGH testing that have stretched more than two years.

All players would be required to submit a blood sample for the study - roughly 3,000 league-wide, though that number will plummet by around 40% next week. Teams must reduce active rosters from 90 to 75 players by 4 p.m. ET Tuesday and to 53 players by 6 p.m. ET on Aug. 31.

Dr. Alan Rogol, who has been jointly appointed to lead the study, and his team remain on standby if the league chooses to sign the letter, though it remains unclear how long the study would take. Until it's done, full HGH testing and related discipline won't kick in.

According to Birch, it's possible HGH testing could begin during the season if that's when an agreement comes, but he said it would be "far better" to start in Week 1.

"Our plan is to keep trying to explain the importance of implementing this testing," Birch said, "the importance of honoring our commitment, and to hopefully convince the union that what they have, the gains that they've made with the agreement that we're looking at, (is) a well-thought and well-earned improvement in their minds and let's go forward.

"That's what we're going to try to do. I think we would be remiss if we go into yet another season without having attempted as best we can to make them understand and to show them that that is the case."

Besides commissioner authority, the NFL and the union have agreed on all substantive issues related to HGH testing. Those include:

- Third-party officers with experience in drug-testing matters to hear appeals for positive tests. (Previously, those appeals went to Birch and others with the league.)

- Random testing of 40 players - five from eight teams - each week beginning with the first week of the regular season and continuing during the postseason and year-round.

- Discipline beginning with a four-game suspension for the first violation, an eight-game suspension for a second violation and a full season for a third.

If enough players test positive during the population study - at least 5%, according to the NFLPA - they would be placed into "reasonable cause" testing for the rest of the season, with another positive test considered a second violation and resulting in an eight-game ban.

The union has maintained the population study is necessary to determine the proper "decision limit" for NFL players. Birch told reporters in February there is "absolutely zero need for a population study of NFL players," citing previous studies by international anti-doping agencies, and accused the union of stalling.

The NFL and the union agreed to HGH testing as part of the collective bargaining agreement that was ratified in August 2011, with a timeline of several weeks to work out details. Two years later, one more detail - Goodell's role in the appeals process - continues to hold up the deal.